2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 9, 1994 0 lago (Scott Wentworth) incenses Othello (Ron O'Neal) with lies, incensing him into a rage in the Stratford Festival's production of "Othello." Stratfior-d's 'thell' its the hm By MELISSA ROSE BERNARDO In contrast to "Hamlet" or "Macbeth," "Othello" is a domestic tragedy. There are no kingdoms at stake, no countries in strife; it is the story of one man and how racism poisons and Othello Avon Theatre July 20, 1994 eventually destroys him. Consequently, it is a difficult show to produce, be- cause the intimacy of the story must always remain the focus. In a highly commendable production, the Stratford Festival has succeeded in conveying "Othello"'s intimacy without losing any of its energy or intensity. The story focuses on Othello (Ron O'Neal), a Moor with a prestigious position in the military. He has just eloped with Desdemona (Lucy Pea- cock), a white woman, and everyone is politely disapproving. But since Othello is such a gifted general and educated man, they can overlook this interracial marriage; after all, that makes him "more fair than black." But not every- one believes that Othello should live like a white man, so his assistant, Iago (Scott Wentworth). resumably dis- gruntled about a missed promotion, proceeds to poison Othello's mind with destructive lies about Desdemona. Director and Stratford veteran Brian Bedford has set the play in the 1920s, giving this production some serious advantages. The presence of a uni- Shakespea formed military is t much strength- Othello the ened, giving the flown and n characterof Iago a more defined po- poetry of ai sition; fancy character,1 evening gowns and tuxedos clothe slowly strip Othello'sacquain- leaving a s> tances, giving the whole circle a mess of a n country club no longer e snootiness. Songs intheplay,includ- to that heij ing one sung by language. Lago, turn into jazz-hot torch songs. Because of this updating, missing is the ethnic aura which usually sur- rounds Othello. When he is draped in African-printed robes, laden with knives and primitive weapons, Othello appears more threatening to his col- leagues and more exotically attractive to Desdemona. But we can forgive this otherwise laudable production this ar- guable flaw, since strong performances re has given most high- metaphoric my which lago ps away, puttering man who can ven aspire ght of give this "Othello" such drive. Ron O'Neal endows Othello with all the requisite eloquence and pres- ence, and ably makes the transition from man to shell. What Othello loses in the end is his language; Shakespeare has given Othello the most high- flown and meta- phoric poetry of any character, which Iago slowly strips away, leaving a sputtering mess of a man who can no longereven as- pire to that height of language. O'Neal needn't worry about "Superfly" any longer. Resplendent All of this is set on another Ming Cho Lee masterpiece. Lee's trademarks are very appropriate here: a row of walls operated by a fly system, each wall dividing the stage into a different depth; backgrounds extending far above the audience's view, providing won- derfully elegant lines. The color scheme - you guessed it - black and white, down to every last bit of furniture. Brian Bedford does well behind the scenes, and fuels this production with the same subtle intensity which charges his performances. His one slip is in the last scene, but after all, two murders and a suicide are hard to manage. A parental guidance warning should probably accompany this production. Most kids have never witnessed a stran- gling, and it will no doubt elicit scat- .tered giggles, as it did at this matinee. Butawkward laughteraside, most view- ers will be shocked by the contempo- rary resonance of "Othello." Thanks to this production, we now see that Shakespearean tragedy extends farpast kingdoms and countries; it extends into our homes and into our hearts, and that can be a scary place to be. OTHELLO runs in repertory through October 15 at the Avon Theatre in Stratford, Ontario. For tickets or information about this or any other production, call the Festival'box office at (51O9 27_3m 0 in white and ivory gowns, Lucy Peacock's Desdemona matches O'Neal, with as much intelligence and grace as beauty. But the most finely-crafted perfor- mance in this production is Scott Wentworth's as Iago. Wentworth's in- tensity - whether it be in a glib smirk or a standing-at-attention pose - is ever-present, and he rarely misses a beat in Iago's movements. IW" Reg E. Gaines Please Don't Take My Air Jordans PolyGram Records "Please Don't Take My Air Jordans" is without a doubt one of the most interesting CDs of the year, and Gaines is no less interesting an artist. Many adjectives describe this man- rapper, poet, teacher, philosopher. The "songs" on this 17-cut album are parables and thoughts he wishes to share with everyone, especially his Black people, told while some interest- ing background beats, which strongly correlate with the mood of each mo- ment, plays. Dealing with issues as diverse as rape, child abuse, racial tensions, Michael Jackson, Blacks who kill for clothes, alcohol, and drugs - issues many people have become desensi- tized to - and speaks about them in a way so realistic he leaves an impres- sion impossible to shake. Reg E. Gaines will make you cry. An article in Spice! Magazine best sums up Gaines and his art. "You'd think he'd be thinking about some- thing more important, but he don't. So when you listen to [him], you do." - Eugene Bowen Da Brat Funkdafied So So Def Records Jermaine Dupri, who has the un- canny ability of turning wannabe imi- tators into stars, has introduced Da Brat's debut CD. I doubt his magic powers will work this time. Da Brat is so un-original, she stands out among her fellow rappers, most of whom are wannabes, too. This woman has taken every element of Snoop Doggy Dogg and incorporateed them into her music. If "Funkdafied" wasn't so pathetic, I'd almost believe Snoop raised his voice an octave and rapped every cut himself. I ain't saying the CD is all bad (just mostly). The lyrics are alright, and the beats, some of which sound like they were sampled from Dre's "The Chronic" (Jermaine, watch out for law- suits.), are solid. However, Da Brat's rapping skillz aren't all that. Female rappers, with the exception of a few, have for a long time been characterized as a buch of un-original, non-experimenters who ride on the coattails of male rappers' successes. Da Brat is the kind of female rapper that validates such stereotypes. One of the songs on this nine-cut CD is "Da Shit Ya Can't Fuc Wit." The UAC's SOUNDSTAGE welcomes M 11~ second word of this title describes "Funkdafied" best. - Eugene Bowen Cows Orphan's Tragedy Amphetamine Reptile Records This is pretty much the best album to have come out yet this year. The Cows have progressed yet again in their purveyance of high energy drunken modern rock which is infi- nitely more palatable than most of the weak poppy poop you will find. "Orphan's Tragedy" opens with the blistering "Cow Island," seen previ- ously on a tour seven-inch available only through AmRep mail-order with an excellent unique B-side. The song involves what sounds like frontman Shannon Selberg singing into the wrong end of his bugle and a guitar line that makes you want to go running down the street after some sort of pied piper that you sense like a big tumor in your head. This leads into the smooth stylings of "Pussy is a Monarchy." Slow tempoed, this little ditty is pure delight. Ithas the atmosphereofan evil, smokey bar where terrible things go on in the back room. It's hard to believe that someone crooning "shut up, lay down on the floor, don't move, don't say a word" to you can sound so good. with SBKER 'iS 9 Recording Artist T. ' MI-L PRIME SEATS HELD FOR UM STUDENTS FR DAY M cwsmeet. ncj witld acuditions 1to follw~ ,: E5 L r ectreoin1 1T A TET EATE - . et tierv- dl s $5.SudntsMI. s.0 *.. atnes . *S-ALS E0A*T S 3.500 " °" "" - je t F e' C r i 6 6 I See RECORDS, Page4 t' ift lk Yf "A BRILLIANT THRILLERI" Nil as n NY INES .L~XZ'U0l14 a 104roll 7[ 7l A A1; VGa- 5V0VVlol.7:. MlC AFI MF,( WV D NLW YORK POST tl. L W~z~w- ,a I